Today, though, while keeping my Bookworm company, I read language that struck me not just as below average but as wrong. Really wrong.

You guys are my reality checkers. Does the language I’ve highlighted in the following passage from the course’s section on religious diversity constitute important information, random information, or the unnecessary insertion of a classic antisemitic trope?

The so-called “Black Church” (churches comprised primarily of African Americans) has contributed significantly not only to the religious and cultural richness of the United States, but it has also played a central role in the political sphere. Numerous black religious leaders, including the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., have been and continue to be hugely important in numerous civil rights and public policy causes. Meanwhile, Jewish Americans have had significant influence on the United States’ policies in the Middle East, and millions of other religious and nonreligious Americans influence politics and public policy every day in elective office, through participation in the political process and through civic activities in their neighborhoods and communities.

Here’s my take: Jews make up only 2% of the American population. To the extent there used to be unanimous support for Israel across both political parties, that wasn’t driven by this 2%. Instead, it came from (a) anticommunism during the Cold War, because Israel sided with America against the Soviet Union, which backed the Arab states; (b) respect for a beleaguered liberal democracy in a sea of totalitarian theocracies and thugocracies; and (c) an American prophetic Christian belief that Israel is the Jewish land and Jews need to return to that land to initiate the Second Coming. I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that America’s conservative Christian community currently loves Israel more and fears Islam more than America’s predominantly Progressive Jewish community does.

My view is that ti’s antisemites, such as Walt and Mearsheimer, who argue that a cabal of evil Jews is directing America’s Middle Eastern foreign policy. For BYU to slip in what I see as a gratuitous remark about Jewish control over foreign policy is a bow to the antisemitic world of Walt and Mearsheimer, and all the others who trail in their wake.

What’s your take? Again, a reality check is always welcome. I’m willing to concede that I’m hypersensitive, but it seems to me that BYU is either careless or worse.

UPDATE: I’m getting a lot of different and interesting opinions — thank you! I should say here something that I should have said in the first place: I have no hostility to Mormons, a group of people I greatly respect. While their faith doesn’t attract me, they live honorable and patriotic lives and that’s always going to appeal to me.

I am, however, deeply suspicious of academics. After all, we know that academia trumps values. That’s why Jesuit colleges encourage abortion and Brandeis supports antisemitic academics. One of the hardest Left students I knew in law school was a BYU grad (he’d followed a girl there). Thus, even though BYU is mostly Mormon and in Utah, that doesn’t necessarily mean anything when measured against the fact that it’s an American university.

My main problem was that the statement seemed utterly out of place. One can definitely praise (or damn) Jews for their impact on American culture (movies, songs, television), but their control over America’s foreign policy strikes me as less obvious. Random statements always seem a bit suspicious.

Incidentally, in the spirit of equality, let me point you to an article in the Forward, a hard Left Jewish online magazine, saying that the NRA is antisemitic. The article basically says that Wayne LaPierre gave a speech attacking Leftists for undermining traditional American institutions.

To the article’s author, the speech’s topic, in and of itself, is an antisemitic dog whistle. I strongly disagree. Leftists of all races, nations of origin, and faiths are proudly attacking America’s institutions — they hate capitalism and the free market, they hate the Second Amendment and other constitutional rights, and they use American institutions (Hollywood, the media, academia, etc.) to spread that hate. In other words, they’re Marxists and they hate what America stands for. That’s not a Jewish thing; that’s a Marxist thing.

Ironically, Marxists throughout the 20th and into the 21st century have been fanatically antisemitic, ever since Marx, a self-hating first generation Jewish convert tied together Jews and capitalism. That’s why socialist nations such as Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia aggressively slaughtered Jews. And that’s why the harder Left a college campus is, the more likely it is to support the BDS movement and otherwise be hostile to Jews. So, no, there is no dog whistle there.

The article also points out that LaPierre singled out Jews in his speech: Soros, Schumer, and Steyer, among others. Yes, they’re all genetically Jewish, and Schumer and Steyer associate themselves with the Jewish community. First and foremost they’re all hardcore Leftists.

Soros is dismissive of his Jewish past, Schumer is the leader of the Senate Democrats, and Steyer has noisily devoted himself to advocating Leftist causes. That is, yes, they are Jewish, but their malevolence towards American institutions is unrelated to being Jews (and certainly none of them are truly religious).

The people LaPierre names are what Evan Sayet calls “plopping” Jews — they plopped out of a Jewish woman’s body and either abandoned Judaism entirely or opted for Reform Judaism, which is more of a social thing, with a form of worship indistinguishable from an amalgam of hard-Left Unitarianism and the Democrat Party platform. I suspect that were LaPierre to speak of Bibi Netanyahu, he’d have nice things to say.

American Jews are split between liberalism and conservatism, with the former being a majority for reasons I can’t comprehend. But, since they are split, how can they have much influence? I’m going with antisemitic.

J K Brown

I would say it is probably similar to this bit of “scholarship” that has been at the Library of Congress for more than a decade now. Note the subtle inclusion of the political party label. It is their frame of mind to put in Tourettes-like jabs. Note how uninformative the jab is compared to say stating how many years the segregation persisted.

A Letter to President Woodrow Wilson

In 1913 President Woodrow Wilson introduced segregation into federal government agencies. Black employees were separated from other workers in offices, restrooms, and cafeterias. Some were also downgraded; others discharged on fictitious grounds. Oswald Garrison Villard met privately with President Wilson to recommend the appointment of a National Race Commission to counter the new discriminatory policies. When President Wilson refused, the NAACP released this open letter of protest to the press. Segregation in the federal government persisted through the next three Republican administrations.http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/naacp/founding-and-early-years.html#obj20

Wolf Howling

It is anti-Semitic, ignoring as it does all the moral, ethical and historical reasons why so many Americans support Israel, and indeed, support Israel over its Muslim neighbors, and ascribing American mideast policy to nothing more than Jewish political influence.

ymarsakar

A person that is anti Semitic would be against Islam, Muslims, Hebrew, Kurdish, and Arabic sources.

You use the term anti Semitic the same way the Nazis who came up with the term, used it in Germany, Wolf. I wonder what you have to say about that.

Danny Lemieux

I think that you are reading way too much into this. Jewish-Americans are only 2% of the populations but exercise enormous influence in many aspects of our society, including academia, science, entertainment, business and foreign policy. The proper response to this should be “Hooray!” This is a testimonial to what J.J.R. Tolkien referred to as “that gifted people”. The thing is, there has been Jewish influence on U.S. Middle East policy, beginning with American-Jewish lobbying of President Truman to support Israel’s creation in 1948. There is a pro-Israel Jewish lobby, just as there is are pro-Irish, pro-Arab and pro-India lobbies, for example. Sadly, there is also a strong anti-Israel Jewish lobby on the Left. Most of this Jewish “influence” has been good for Israel and the United States, but a segment of anti-semitic Jews has had a very bad influence on policy. “Influence” is not the same as “control over”, however. I see the BYU statement

ymarsakar

I think your comment cut off at the end there, Daniel.

ymarsakar

I provided an in depth opposition research pdf portfolio link on how “academia” views and treats BYU, in the aaup in my above comment.

It was also via bing, didn’t even need Google spy bot tech.

This is what I call “doing my homework” as an analyst.

As for the Mormons, 99% is in the mainline LDS branch, but the 1% is probably even more vocal in the various anti or ex mormon websites. Analyzing the various political and factional disputes took even me over a year.

Since CW2 seems to be nearing fatal official compilation, gathering intel profiles on various religious leaders that will influence the outcome and fighting, was one of my priorities. That and finding my survivalist resources…

The Mormons were survivalists before the preppers even got activated and popular. Although probably only the Amish and Pilgrims beat them by timing. Even the SF atheists have publicly lauded the various relief systems and resources the LDS church provides for various disasters and welfare of groups. It’s welfare that actually works… no wonder they hate Mitt Romney. They are just afraid if he could reform Mass., that other Leftist enclaves would be in danger. There is little danger of that happening, since Mitt could only do that if the religious hierarchy of the LDS org backs him, and they would not.

As for the aaup source, American culture has been Gramscied to death because of the 1960s. They first took over the teacher unions in 1930s, documented in Bella Dodd’s School of Darkness book. These subversions and infiltrations take time. They don’t happen because of a hardcore Leftist student graduating from a university, or some “grassroots” movement that is just astroturf wolf pretending to be a sheep. There is also “significant” underlying hidden hostility between the universities like Chicago, their faculty, and Harvard, their faculty, vs BYU. The aaup confirms that in triplicate. Way too much “shadow warfare” going on this “land of the free and brave”.

David Foster

Given that the passage pairs the role of the Black churches in the Civil Rights Movement with Jewish political activity, it would have been more intellectually honest to also mention the extremely strong role that Jews played in Civil Rights activity.

ymarsakar

Does the language I’ve highlighted in the following passage from the course’s section on religious diversity constitute important information, random information, or the unnecessary insertion of a classic antisemitic trope?

They are correct. The “Jewish Lobby” has a disproportionate effect on US relations with the ME.

Anti Semitism is a term the Nazis came up to persecute Semitic Jews and non religious Semitic Jews. When “Jews” use this and think it is some kind of Jewish tradition thing, they are face palming themselves.

You’ve been trained and indoctrinated in this Anti Semitic hogash, Book, and you might want to think about un indoctrinating yourself sooner or later.

The Left has been trained like PavLov dogs to react to any feasible criticism of blacks with “racism”, thus they would react to “so called Black Church” with charges of racism. Your reaction is not all that much different on that level.

Leah Kabaker

I’m with you, antisemitic. As you say, 2% of the population, yes, many left leaning Jews spend ooodles of money on the Democratic Party. These days, if it’s any kind of influence, it is anti-Israel. Btw, Why only single out Black Churches and Jews? Black Churches becasue – virtue signaling, Jews – cuz they don’t like us.
Meanwhile, CAIR is going out of it’s way to inflitrate our schools and teach Islam – which also gets a pass.

ymarsakar

Jews have more angst against Christians than the other way around. The cycle flips depending on which power is behind the State ruling a region.

It goes back to when Moses talked about a future prophet that the Israeli people should obey. The Hebrew fragment of the Tribe of Judah and Benjamine, think that is a future Jewish messiah. The Christians say that YHVH and Yeshua were the same original spirit, which meant the Jews got the Romans to crucify YHVH and the Jewish messiah, Yeshua… the Holy One of Israel.

Spencer

Hmm. I have twice attempted to post some comments explaining/defending BYU’s posture toward the Jewish people, but I come back a few minutes later and the post has disappeared. Is this a glitch? Or is a “reality check” only welcome when it affirm’s the author’s opinion?

John

It seems that the author of this blog has never heard of Sheldon Adelson. Maybe you should give him a google and reassess your position?

ymarsakar

Didn’t know about him, but Trum is kind of well connected to the Jewish (Supremacy or normal) circle. For some reason…

Faragon

“Anti-Semitic” is one of those terms that, classically, is so broad it almost doesn’t mean anything. If you’re going to express something anti-semitic, it seems to me, you should have to explain at whom you’re mad. Presumably the Semites, right? Okay – which Semites? Jews? Arabs? Turkmens? Shabaks? (Actually the Shabak langauge may not be Semitic, I’m not sure and don’t have time to research it.) Babylonians? Assyrians? Aramaeans? Canaanites? Ethiopians? Phoenicians?

It always struck me as a fairly dopey locution. If you’re anti-semitic, by definition you’re saying you’re opposed to a branch of that Afro-Asiatic language family that includes Hebrew, Aramaic, Ethiopic, Arabic, and a bunch of knock-offs of Arabic. (Not sure about Shabak!) That is what “Semitic” means.

The children of the Hebrews get offended when they think they’ve spotted anti-Semitism, but the person expressing the feeling could just as readily be mad at Arabs. (Probably MORE readily: there are more of them.) Same word applies.

Granted: in common usage it’s come to be widely seen as meaning anti-Hebrew, but common usage is common; not invariably correct. (I don’t care in how many books it appears, there is no such word as “alright,” either.)

I think you’re being a touch fragilistic with regard to BYU, leaping to the ramparts when there’s no need. I suspect it’s just dumb, not malevolent.

ymarsakar

It always struck me as a fairly dopey locution.

That’s because the Germans created it specifically to get rid of ethnic but integrated German Jews. It’s dopey because the Germans actually liked the other Semites. It is also dopey because the Jews act like they hate the Nazis but use a lot of the same thinking, lifting it for their own purposes.

ymarsakar

If by BYU you mean Brigham Young University, then BYU is owned, literally, by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, aka Mormons. They are also 1.4-1.6 or basically 2% of the population.

The number of US policies that have been influenced by the Mormon mainline branch is not insignificant. It even goes back 30 years before CW1 officially started.

Like the Jewish ethnicities, the LDS main lineage has significantly higher representation due to their social and economic leverage. Mitt Romney is only one minor example, there are plenty of others. Many Christians have various conspiracy theories about Mormons.

2% of a population doesn’t mean they have little impact on a nation’s policies. Calling this fact out, also isn’t some conspiracy. Too much fear going on in this “land of the brave” people call USA.

11B40

Greetings:

I grew up in the Bronx of the ’50s and ’60s. Back there and then, there was a bit of local folk ridicule that commented on some of the local vernacular.

Basically, it had to do with the way the following was pronounced:

“Did you eat yet?” “No, did you?” would come out as “Jeet yet? No, jew?”

Which one day, on the return of a co-worker from her repast, led to a bit of upset followed by not totally believed explanation.

Just FYI, I did a long update to the post, addressing some of the interesting issues and facts all of you have raised. Thank you for getting back to me on this one.

ymarsakar

I am, however, deeply suspicious of academics

The person that instructs the online class is a Bachelors graduate. He’s barely an academic with a two line color tan…

BYU, from my sources, is heavily spliced off from secular academia. Even more so than the Jesuits and Catholic learning institutions (I know the Jesuits came up with the predominant super majority of liberal arts fields, that’s a different topic)

That doesn’t mean there aren’t evolutionary biologists there. It just means that the line preventing the world from invading is secured by the hierarchy of the LDS faith and the owning corporations.

I’m not even sure they accept federal cash. They are a non profit because the LDS corporate faith is a non profit, most likely. Can non profits accept federal cash?

The Jesuits are the Army of Satan, as John Adams once wrote. Something like that, at least, so don’t just take it from me, there are other sources that were highly suspicious of the Jesuits.

Jesuit, or rather Society of Jesus, is the Militia of Christ, an Army originally under Loyola. An army that specialized in covert operations and unconventional warfare. They owe their loyalty directly to the Patriarch of Rome, which they consider the Heavenly Father or Vicar of Christ. The one that stands between everyone and the Christ. The bible teaches that nothing stands between you and the Christ, by comparison.

So, Book, you’re not in your specialized field on this matter, but I am. The Jesuits being what they are, has nothing to do with “academia” per say.

One of the hardest Left students I knew in law school was a BYU grad (he’d followed a girl there). Thus, even though BYU is mostly Mormon and in Utah, that doesn’t necessarily mean anything when measured against the fact that it’s an

So because a student gets to go to a religious private university, that means you know where the academic allegiance lies for the entire school curriculum? The logic doesn’t even pass elementary school, Book.

One is in Idaho.

My main problem was that the statement seemed utterly out of place. One can definitely praise (or damn) Jews for their impact on American culture (movies, songs, television), but their control over America’s foreign policy strikes me as less obvious.

Factual statements are “not utterly out of place”, especially when they are accurate. You are overlying a biased interpretation of intent, such as praising/damning Jews, when the facts don’t support that. Of course their influence on America’s foreign policy strikes you as less obvious… because this is an American government class which includes knowledge about how lobbies actually work in government. Or would you prefer the fantasy illusion Americans are told of how a Bill goes through DC?

Here’s a hint: palm grease and bribes.

The article basically says that Wayne LaPierre gave a speech attacking Leftists for undermining traditional American institutions.

I am not a graduate of BYU nor do I have any connections necessary to be disclosed with them.

Thus look up the research yourself. BYU is a private education institution not only owned by a church but it is damn well controlled by them as well. This ain’t theory.

My Leftist antenna is far more sensitive than yours, Book. If they were some kind of submarine Cloward Piven Chomsky like Gramsci march through the institutions wolf in sheep’s clothing, I would be one of the first ones to know.

ymarsakar

Ain’t no “American university” like BYU I have seen yet, except for private Jesuit/Catholic ones perhaps. in depth hard evidence at the aaup.org link

The article by John J. Mearsheimer of the University of Chicago and Stephen M. Walt of the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, entitled “The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy” would not be taken seriously if not for the reputations and associations of the authors. They have each written respected scholarly works on government and international relations and occupy important positions at their universities.

By your logic, Book, the University of Chicago and the John Finging Whatever school at Harvard, is part of academia. Academia controls American universities. BYU is an American University, thus the logic follows that BYU is anti semitic.

How about you stay off the Leftist identity politics, when fighting the Left, if you don’t want my “Leftist sensors” to ping up here. I already warned people that the more they fight and react against the Left (vs killing em), the more they will become the Leftist alliance. Jewish Supremacy beliefs are a real existant faction in the world power play. BYU, however, didn’t touch upon that in the online course.

Unless you’re just taking some passages out of context and there’s something being hidden here.

The University of Chicago and Harvard now controls BYU teachers and curriculum… you have got to be kidding me. Why don’t you pull the other finger. If it was so easy, the Jesuits wouldn’t have so much power with their Catholic universities in the US.

ymarsakar

Some more links I found which are somewhat relevant, before I lose them.

The last pj media link wasn’t what I wanted to find, but it was related. The one I wanted to find was the one I blogged about where a Jewish rabbi converted to Christianity and then got disowned by his family for being “worse than a terrorist”.

sandra

Having graduated from BYU ions ago, all I can add to this conversation is they are all over the map about several issues, depending on the temperature of the times and the LDS church’s need (financially).

ymarsakar

A university allows for academic freedom in the US. BYU is not a military stronghold like Groom Lake where even the US President lacks the security clearance to be briefed.

A population that is truly free would of course be “all over the map about several issues”. Depending on the temperature of the times, the FBI may or may be traitors. As for finances, that is what audits are for.

sandra

Except, they claim to receive modern day revelation and they believe what they believe eternally. Being ‘all over the map’ is not something their tenets embrace. (I used to be one.)

ymarsakar

Define “they”. The Vatican and Jesuits ran a lot of universities and several of them promote alien theologies and evolution. What is your point, that religions should only teach dogma in their universities?

Tonestaple

I recall something Florence King wrote to explain the fondness of conservatives for Israel. It was the Six Days’ War that did it. But King summed up the Southern love for beau sabreur swagger, and the most amazing cease-fire in anti-Semitism the world had probably ever seen, characterizing your average (conservative) good ol’ boy’s attitude as “By dern, them Jew boys shore can fight.” So it’s not at all the Jews controlling the foreign policy of the United States, but it’s most conservatives, who also cannot resist a well-earned swagger, who have had more effect than anyone else. I don’t know what to make of this BYU course, if the authors are anti-Semitic, but they sure are silly and ignorant.

ymarsakar

What are they silly and ignorant about, do you have an argument about this or is this just a feeling like Book had.

Reading a passage about as long as the one I am replying to and jumping to judgment on it, is that supposed to be wise and knowledgeable.

Tonestaple

I’m sorry, ymar: I was unaware that I needed to clear my comments with you before posting lest they vex you. I’ll try to meet your so-very-high standards in the future.

ymarsakar

I’m sorry, I didn’t realize you had a nerve about people asking you questions. Since I don’t have the power nor intent to coerce you into answering questions you refuse to do so, I don’t see what the problem is.

Perhaps you act like BYU is vexing Semites on purpose due to your so very high standards.

Gassius Maximus

Depending on when this stuff was put together but of course they will be running in support and interference for their next Senator “MItts.” I think his foreign policy would be much different that Trump’s. He is light in the loafers.

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